UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $595.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $601.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price objective (down from $640.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $603.00 to $655.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:UNH opened at $561.10 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $586.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $559.39. UnitedHealth Group has a 52-week low of $436.38 and a 52-week high of $630.73. The company has a market capitalization of $516.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.37% and a net margin of 3.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group will post 27.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after purchasing an additional 563,554 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after acquiring an additional 318,039 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,884,019,000 after acquiring an additional 193,800 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,039,601 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,094,247,000 after purchasing an additional 35,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $3,096,896,000 after buying an additional 5,290,025 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

UnitedHealth Group Company Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.